Light may be a signal of things to come

By Buck Thompson

Posted:
11/17/2012 11:04:29 AM MST

Dear Buck:

Driving up on Wilson Avenue at 47th Street, I saw a traffic signal mounted sideways, horizontally, with the green lens on the left and the red one on the right. A sign said "traffic signal head test location." What's going on there? Are we going to see those all over town now?

Signed, Vertically Inclined

Dear Inclined: Have you ever noticed, on those rare occasions that we have a wind-driven snowstorm, that snow obscures the traffic signal lenses at intersections? That might not happen often, but when it does it can lead to a big traffic snarl.

City traffic engineers are experimenting with solutions to that problem, and one possible fix is the one you saw. The visors on the lights sometimes funnel the snow right into the lens, so somebody had the idea that turning it sideways would prevent that build-up.

Trouble is, nobody knows yet if it works. The last snowstorm was without much wind. But perhaps by winter's end the engineers will know whether the tilted signals solve the problem. Even if they do, is it worth the time and trouble to change them all? That's a question for later.